Sputnik News:
Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile systems will be deployed in Russia’s Orenburg region as part of the snap combat-readiness drills ordered by the country’s President Vladimir Putin.
As part of the ongoing snap combat readiness exercises being conducted by the troops of Russia’s central military district, Tochka-U short-range tactical missile systems will be deployed in the country’s Orenburg region, according to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
It quoted a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson as saying that the Tochka-U missile systems will be deployed in southern Russia’s Orenburg region within several hours.
“The crews of the Tochka-U missile systems involved in the drills are completing the redeployment from the Urals to the shooting ranges of the Orenburg Region,” the spokesperson said.
The Tochka (Point)-U is a mobile missile system, designed to launch precise attacks on the enemy’s tactical targets, such as control posts, bridges, storage facilities, troop concentrations and airfields.
The modernized version of the Tochka-U, which can carry nuclear, biological or chemical warheads, has a maximum firing range of up to 185 kilometers.
The missile is transported using a mobile launcher vehicle, which is fitted with an NBC protection system and is fully amphibious.
The weapon has an inertial guidance system, and it typically takes less than twenty minutes for the vehicle to stop and launch its missile. Prior to the launch, the missile is set up in a near-vertical position.
